Tire-tightener.



PATENTED DEC. 22, 1903.

' R. H. LEWIS.

TIRE TIGHTENER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 11. 1903.

K0 MODEL.

Patented December 22, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD HENRY LEWIS, OF RIVERDALE, MARYLAND.

'TlRE-TIGHTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 747,736, dated December22, 1903.

Application filed May 11, 1903.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LRIOHARD HENRY LEWIS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Riverdale, in the county of Prince George and State ofMaryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tire-Tighteners, of which the following isaspecifioation.

This invention relates to means for tightening bands, hoops, and similararticles and pertains especially to a vehicle-tire tightener.

- said space being held by the holder, one of said ends being fixed tothe holder and the other end attached to the holder to slide therein andto furnish the holder with means for tightening the tire.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a felly-holderadapted to have a tire attached thereto and a slidable block carried inor by the holder and having-the tire attached 'thereto,said block beingoperated by a wedgefollower to tighten andhold the tire after the latteris out between its two said points of attachment.

Various other objects, advantages, and irnproved results intire-tightening and band:

and hoop connections and tightening are produced by my device, as willbe seen from the specification and claims to follow.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application, Figure lis a side elevation showing a tire tightened and held by the device withprovision for further tight-' Serial No. 156,618. (No model.)

. is an elevation showing the holder applied to a hoop or band. Fig. 8isasectional view of a modification, partly broken away.

The same numeral-references denote th same parts throughout the severalviews of the drawings. 7

The invention is capable of operation in connection with variousarticles; but more especially is it applicable to vehicle-tires, and forthis reason, it will be particularly shown and described applied to atire, it being understood that it isequally as'applicable to 'old as tonew tires and may form a part of the latter in their manufacture-andsale; but for purposes of illustration a worn or loose tire is hereinemployed.

The holder 1 is preferably in theshape of a segment of a-wheel-felly andhas end sockets 2 and 3, into which the ends of a felly 4, formed byremoving a section of the felly, are fitted. The socket 3-has screws 5for attaching a tire 6 and this end of the telly to the holder. tachedto the holder, but is simply fitted into the socket 2 and slidably heldthere and to the tire by a screw 1 and slot- 2, so as to leave a take-upspace 7. The socket 2 has a wall 8, provided with a beveled orinclinedface 9, which terminates in flanges 10, so that the top of the latterforms aseat'for the head of abolt 12-, which extends through an opening13 in the holder. An elongation 14 and flanges 15 form shoulders 16,with the flanges 10, so that a cavity 17 is formed for the bolt-head 12.I

The slidable wedge-block is inserted into the holder through the opening13 and comprises a beveled or inclined face l8't0 match the holder-face9 and terminates in a stop 19 to engage the edge of the opening 13 andlimit the movement of the block from the bolt 12. Shoulders l9 engagethe shoulders 16 to stop the movement of the block toward the bolt 12.Extending in one direction from the shoulders 19 are bearings 20, whichrest against the under side of the flanges 10, and extending in theother direction from the shoulders 19 is a tail or wing 21, bearing onthe flanges 15 and on the wall of the holder, so as to cover theelongation 14 in whatever position the block may be. A lug 22 extendsthrough the The other felly end is not atelongation, and a groove 23 isformed in the end of the block for the bolt 12. The other end of thetire is secured to the lug 22 by screws 24. A follower-wedge 25 isloosely mounted to slide on the bolt 12, which is provided with suitablelock-nuts 26.

Fig. 7 shows the device applied to a barrel or tank band or hoop. Theonly diiference is that the holder opening and elongation are changed orreversed, the operating mechanism being the same as that just described.

Referring to the modification shown in Fig. 8, the parts are plate-like.The wedge-block 27 has a lug 28 extending through a slot 29 in theWedge-plate 30, and a portion of the walls of said slot is beveled orshouldered to hold the rectangular head 31 of a bolt 32, one end of thetire 33 being secured to the lug 28 by screws 34: and the other end tothe wedge-plate 30 by screws 35.

Preparatory to applying the device a section of a wheel-felly a littlemore than the length of the holder is sawed out and removed. In theplace of the removed section the holder is placed and secured by thescrews 5, the tire slitted or cut or a portion thereof removed, asoccasion may require, and the wedge-block secured to the tire. Thelocknuts are then operated to force the wedgefollower, according as thetire may require, until the latter is firm and tight. The device is leftin this position for future use, so that, the tire may be tightened fromtime to time without other work except operating the locknuts.

It is obvious that in the total disability of a tire or wheel the devicemay be transferred or preserved for future use.

It will be seen that the working or movable parts of the device arethoroughly shielded and protected from dust, sand, mud, and water, thatthe lock-nuts have simply to be moved to operate the device foradjusting or tightening a tire, band, or hoop, that such adjustment maybe effected while a vehicle is in use and without removing the wheel ortire, and that the device may be applied to a U-shaped felly, flatfelly, or one of any other shape.

The application of the device to tank hoops or bands will be found amost convenient, certain, and expeditious means of connection andtightening.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A device for tightening tires, bands and the like, comprising aholder or plate having an inclined or beveled face and secured to oneend of the tire, a wedge-block projecting through the holder and securedto the other end of the tire, a bolt held by the holder, and

a follower-wedge on the bolt and operated by suitable nuts.

2. A tire-tightener comprising a felly-holder adapted to form a sectionof the felly and having a beveled or wedge face and attached to one endof the tire and to the felly, a slidable block carried by the holder andhaving a lug projecting through one edge of the holder and secured tothe other end of the tire, a bolt carried by the holder, and afollower-wedge on the bolt and operated through the other edge of theholder by suitable nuts to slide the block.

3. A tire-tightener comprising a holder adapted to replace a removedportion of a felly and having one end of a tire secured thereto, a faceslanting from one edge of the holder inwardly, an elongation in theother edge of the holder, a slidable block having a lug to which theother end of the tire is secured, and working in the elongation, a boltcarried by the holder and extending therethrough, and a follower-wedgeon the bolt and operated against the said faces by suitable nuts.

4. In a tire-tightener the combination,with the holder having a cavityand an elongation in one edge, an opening in the other edge the wall endof which opening is beveled or inclined, of the slidable block having alike beveled or inclined end working in said opening and terminating ina stop to engage the other end of the opening, a lug on the blockextending through the other edge of the holder and working in theelongation, a bolt held in said cavity and extending through saidopening, and a fo1lower-wedge carried by the bolt and operated bysuitable nuts.

5. In a wheel-tire tightener the combination, with the holder having oneend of the tire secured thereto and provided with wheelfelly sockets,flanges on the interior of the holder and forming shoulders, a cavityand elongation in communication upon one edge of the holder, and aninclined face forming one end of an opening in the other edge of theholder, of the slidable block having a like face at one end andterminating in a stop working in the opening, a tail or wing at theother end of the block to cover the elongation, side hearings on theblock which form shoulders that engage the holder-shoulders, a boltdepending from the cavity, and a follower-wedge loose on the bolt andoperated by suitable nuts.

In witness whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

RICHARD HENRY LEWIS.

Witnesses:

O. T. BELT, FRANK S. APPLEMAN.

